Not surprised... when they closed the Birmingham Post-Herald and announced that the Cinci Post wouldn't continue its JOA past Dec. 31, 2007, it was the rumor floating around then...
The trust tie-in does make it interesting, tho...

As you’re all aware, newspapers are going through some pretty tough times.

Just about everybody is doing a lot of soul searching as the industry does its level best to support newspaper values and determine their future. The same is true at Scripps.

Yesterday during an investor conference, Joe NeCastro, our chief financial officer, talked about possible strategic alternatives for the newspaper division. His comments were in response to a question from a stock analyst about the company’s thoughts on â€œde-consolidation.â€

If you haven’t done so already, I urge each of you to listen to the archived webcast of the Scripps presentation and listen carefully to Joe’s qualified and candid answer.

Although a little more detailed than usual, Joe’s response is consistent with the company’s long-term view of creating value and - wisely - its willingness to give all options a full hearing.

That said, I can assure you that there are no plans to sell the newspaper division. What’s more, there are no immediate plans to sell individual properties. We remain focused on our top priority of growing share in our local markets.

That’s not to say that we might not consider transactions involving specific newspapers from time to time. But, that’s nothing new. We’re always keeping an eye on the strategic value of our newspapers and the markets we compete in. Over the years, we’ve added newspapers and we’ve divested some. It’s all part of being in the newspaper business.

Joe’s comments and some comments by Ken to a follow-up question later in the round-table discussion were meant to convey to investors that the company is conscious of the current economic environment in which we operate. The questions that are being raised about newspaper valuations throughout the industry demands our attention and we believe it’s important for Wall Street to know that we don’t have our heads in the sand.

Rest assured that Scripps has long been committed to the newspaper business and continues to be so.

Does anyone see the conglomerates and corporations that own multiple papers finally hitting rock bottom, saying, "Fuck it," and selling to private investors/owners who will then accept an eight per cent profit margin rather than 10, 12, 20 per cent?